Why do children find it easier to learn languages? While some theorise language is innate to humans, children are actually exposed to huge amounts of it – around 10,000 hours in their first four years, according to one estimate. This suggests they have a tougher time learning language than most people think.
How long does it take to master a language?
Estimates range from 400 to 2,000 hours
- Research shows those who want to learn will pick up the language more effectively than people being told to learn
- This could be as bilingual people realise that there is no intrinsic link between a word and its meaning
What are the best ways of learning a language?
The main key is time
- You need time to learn a language
- Practice is essential
- Being immersed in a language is the best way to learn – not simply learning words and grammar
- No conclusive research has identified a best time of day to learn
What will the main language of the future be?
Currently, 40 per cent of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages are endangered, having less than 1,000 speakers.
- However, there’s no guessing if English being the language of science, the internet and much academic research, it is likely to remain an important language in the future.
What is the hardest language to learn?
You’ll have a natural neurological preference to languages close to your own
- This happens especially when there are lots of cognate words from different languages that have the same etymological origin
- Languages with vastly different phonetics will be harder to process
- For example, languages such as Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese use tones to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning
